"We had many chances but did not score enough goals," he told kicker.de."That is precisely our problem. We're not good enough with the opportunities we get."In some situations we could have done better. We sometimes made small errors and did not find the finish we needed."

"I know that it is the biggest victory in our history over the Faroe Islands," joked Löw following Germany's previous narrow wins over the north Atlantic minnows."The Faroe Islands aren't the benchmark for other teams we will have to play in this group.It was clear to see from the beginning that we wanted to score, but our problem at the moment is we waste a lot of chances.""Not only in this game have we needed a lot of opportunities to score.""Once again it was the little things missing in our game which were missing if we are to score more goals."

"We had many chances but did not score enough goals," he told kicker.de."That is precisely our problem. We're not good enough with the opportunities we get. In some situations we could have done better. We sometimes made small errors and did not find the finish we needed."

Löw: "Ich spüre eine große Motivation" - 7 September 2012In a new interview on dfb.de, Jogi talks of the World Cup qualifying campaign ahead, the disappointment of the Euro exit, the excellent relationship with the fans and today's opponents - the Faroe Islands.

Assistant Coach Hansi Flick announced Thursday that Toni Kroos will miss the Faroe Islands match with a pelvic injury. Sami Khedira, Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil and Marco Reus will be used. The fifth midfield player has not yet been named, nor the central defensive partnership. Manuel Neuer will be in goal. from dfb.de

"I expect an improved defensive performance against the Faroes, but we must set our stall very early in attack," he was quoted as saying in an interview.The 52-year-old warned his players to work hard and told them to run down the pitch, and help their team both in the attacking and defensive play. On the other hand, he said that the BVB and Der FCB have their own footballing philosophy. Therefore, despite having the same group of players, Germany have adopted their own style."The central midfielders will fulfil their role both offensively and defensively. Dortmund and Munich have their own specific playing styles, but even if there are many players from both teams, we have our own system," he mused."Flexibility and technical skills will be important. Players like Marco Reus can function as a striker. We will continue to monitor Cacau and decide what to do," he finally concluded.

At his first press conference of the new World Cup qualifying campaign, Joachim Löw spoke of the challenges ahead. Although they had passed their last qualifying campaign (Euro 2012) with 'flying colours', he said, he anticipated that this one would be no foregone conclusion. "Sweden, Ireland and Austria will demand something from us and clear victories are expected against Faroe Islands or Kazakhstan." He wanted the team to start with two wins and create a foundation for the games ahead and said the side was 'hungry' after the disappointment of the European championships.

"We will have to completely change our tactics - which used to be, 'if we have the ball we are active, if not we drop back'," said Löw. "Our aim in the next months will be to play a high pressing game, even against attacking sides.""We have to be more active when defending without the ball. Everyone has to play their part and this gives us quite a lot of work to do in training but we have to tackle this now. Before the European Championship there was not enough time."

Reus ready to roll for GermanyGermany coach Joachim Löw has said captain Philipp Lahm will revert back to the right side of defence for Friday's World Cup qualifier against Faroe Islands while midfielder Marco Reus should start.

"That is how it will be at the start, that is how we have trained," said Löw."With regards to Marcel, I feel that he has now arrived for us."Schmelzer trained with the national team for the first time on Wednesday morning after recovering from a slight infection.(On Marco Reus) "You can assume that he will play," said Löw.Löw is warning against expectations of another perfect record in Group C as his team look to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

"He (Philipp Lahm) will be changed from the European Championship. He plays for Bayern anyway on the right side so we too will make this change." said Löw.Toni Kroos played only a limited role in training today, and Löw added: "There is a question mark behind him."

"The players have put their disappointments behind them and there is real hunger for success," Löw said. "That goes for the coaching staff as well.""The Faroes have only lost recently by narrow margins, one-or two-goal margins. Italy only beat them by a goal," he said. "They are certainly not cannon-fodder."

Bei Löw gewinnt Özil sein Lächeln zurückOf his midfield star's difficult run, Jogi says he is not worried "Mesut can deal with the criticism. He has such high quality that I know he will come through at Real Madrid. I am 100% sure of that."

Of the central defence line-up, he said that although Per Mertesacker was back, he had had difficult months of injury behind him. On the other hand, Mats Hummels had impressed at the European championship.

"We don't think about Brazil, we will do that next year," he said."Now, a new competition begins and we're looking forward to that. We are highly motivated, but the planning for Brazil starts later.""I am happy to have all the team together for a longer term than against Argentina," he said."Last time not all players were there, so we will review the Euro 2012 this time.""And of course, we will mark some things in the training regarding the Faroe Islands and Austria ahead. Have some conversations, all the things you do when you are together for longer time."Löw singled out the likes of Borussia Dortmund duo Marco Reus and Mario Götze, together with Bayer Leverkusen's Andre Schürrle, as the type of player he intends to build his Germany team around."I already said that I think these kind of players will be the future," he said."Players that play intelligent (football), in a tactical way. The room on the pitch (will) get smaller. Players like Marco Reus, Andre Schürrle and Mario Götze will be needed in (the) future."They are quick and intelligent, they are able to find a lot of ways to pass the ball. And I think you need these players in the future."

Joachim Low relishing 2014 World Cup qualifying challengeGermany coach Joachim Löw is confident that his side will have a successful 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign. The European giants will take on the Faroe Islands and Austria in Group C in their opening two matches later this month."The players and coaches feel we have a great motivation to take on a project as large as the World Cup in Brazil," Löw told German news agency DAPD."There's been a lot of talk [of our last two defeats to Italy and Argentina]. Now we have to take the next step. The goal to entertain the fans with good, attractive, inspiring and offensive football we will maintain. ""Of course we want to be successful in both matches [this month] and make good progress for the matches in October against Ireland and Sweden."

Löw blickt nach vorn: Projekt WM startetLöw geht mit "großer Motivation" in die WM-Qualifikation - Jogi talks on the team.dfb.de website of the challenges facing the team, particularly in attack, expecting that their qualifying opponents will act defensively and thus they will need players who are smart and flexible in tight spaces. He cited Marco Reus as such a player and the 'first alternative' to Miroslav Klose.He said that "Certainly the disappointment was enormous" after the European championships but the reaction to the Argentina match showed the relationship with the fans was 'intact'.

"We are all looking forward to it beginning," he said. "Obviously we want to start with two victories in Hanover and Vienna, and carry that momentum with us for the rest of the year."

Philipp Lahm plus Arsenal duo Per Mertesacker and Lukas Podolski are back in the German squad for the first upcoming World Cup qualifiers. "It is good that the captain is back again" said Joachim Löw. "And Per and Lukas have now completed their first games in the Premier League. It was always clear that they were going to back when the World Cup qualifiers began."Talking of Bastian Schweinsteiger's exclusioh, he said "I have spoken at length with Bastian. We have agreed that he needs a little more time to fully get back into training and match rhythm." The plan is to bring Bastian back for the Ireland and Sweden matches in October. - from dfb.de - 31 August 2012

Last updated 11 September 2012See my Index Page for photograph credits. With thanks to everyone on the Group for their contributions, especially Silke, Maren, Denise, Rocio and Yowko. Anything else you think I should include on this page? Let me know!